Don't Regret
by YukimuraShuusukeGirl
Summary: At sweet sixteen, Sakuno is still shy and timid. However, she is now beginning her first year in senior high at Rikkai Dai instead of Seigaku. Why? All answers will be known as Sakuno starts to remember the past she forgot from an accident.
1. Chapter 1

_**Don't Regret **_

_**Summary: **__**At sweet sixteen, Sakuno is still shy and timid. However, she is now beginning her first year in senior high at Rikkai Dai instead of Seigaku. Why? All answers will be known as Sakuno starts to remember the past she forgot from an accident. **_

_**Category: Prince of Tennis**_

_**Pairing: Sakuno/?**_

_**Rating: T**_

_**Authors Note: I had permission from Yvie, a while ago to continue this story! I will be making some edits and so in the chapters and add on on chapters! I want to make it so it fits my style of writing...and make things flow smoother...at least smoother in my opinion. Hope you all enjoy this! **_

_**x-X-x**_

_**Chapter One**_

_**x-X-x**_

Looking in the mirror Sakuno sighed as she tightened the end of her braid again. Today as going to be her first day at her new school.

She was excited...and very nervous.

Looking over her appearance again, Sakuno sighed. She seemed to be doing that a lot today. It must be her neves.

She looked in the mirror again, before she shook her head and grabbed her bag. She needed to start heading to school if she wanted to be on time.

As she stepped outside Sakuno blinked to let her eyes get adjusted to the bright sun. It was early and the sun was still up and greeting people.

"Time to get going." Sakuno whispered to herself as she started to make her way to her new school. She just hoped she didn't get lost on the way there.

Given her extremely bad sense of direction, she had walked to Rikkai Dai everyday for the past week and now, she was confident of not losing her way. Fifteen minutes later, she was outside the gates of Rikkai Dai.

'_This must be my lucky day! I haven't gotten lost… No, I couldn't have gotten lost. I went over the route so many times. Still, it's a nice feeling to arrive at my new school without having to ask anyone for directions.'_Sakuno thought to herself as she made her way to the teachers' office, as she was told when she received a packet of instructions for new students from the school.

When she was outside the teachers' office, she knocked politely, in her quiet manner, before she went in.

* * *

The bell rang. Yukimura Miyu dashed inside the classroom and sat down, breathing heavily for she woke up late and had to rush to school in a hurry. Usually her brother woke her up but today he had to go to school early for practice, hence she overslept.

She had been lucky to make it so close to the bell, Miyu had been so sure she was going to be late. If she was she would have to explain to her brother why she got a detention. Not a conversation she wanted to have with him...again.

Taking a deep breath Miya started to arrange her things on her desk for her classes, it was when she was putting out her pencil case when she heard the girls behind her talk of a new student. They were hoping that this new student would be a good-looking guy.

'_I would rather it's a girl. Hopefully someone who likes to play tennis.'_ Miyu thought wistfully, as she glanced out the window before going back to what she was doing. She did not care too much for boys due to the fact that she had a brother who had lots of friends and they would always meet up at their house. It was not that she dislike them, it was only because she was around them all the time that she longed for a female confidante.

Miyu did not lack for friends at school. She got along with everyone but somehow was unable to make any close friends. It was probably due to the fact that she disliked most of the topics the girls in her class usually talked about. Examples being fashion, gossip and of course, guys.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the classroom door slide open and Sano-sensei stepped inside. The class immediately became silent.

Sano-sensei turned to them and said, "As you all must have heard by now, we have a new student with us today." With that, he said to someone outside the door, "Come in."

Sakuno took a deep breath and stepped into the hated being in the center of attention, she was shy and timid by nature. She clutched her school bag tightly, hoping that no one would notice that her hands were shaking ever so slightly.

She stopped next to Sano-sensei and waited for him to tell her where to sit.

"This is Ryuzaki Sakuno. Would you like to introduce yourself, Ryuzaki?" Sano-sensei asked, a small smile on his face as he looked down at the small slip of a girl.

Sakuno gave a small nervous smile and said, "I am Ryuzaki Sakuno. Yoroshiku-onegaishimasu." She then bowed politely.

Sano-sensei looked around the classroom for an empty desk and he found one next to Miyu, by the window. "Ryuzaki, you can sit next to Yukimura Miyu in that empty seat. Yukimura, it would be nice if you can help Ryuzaki settle in since you have been in this school since junior high."

Miyu stood up and smiled, "Hai, sensei. Yuroshiku ne, Ryuzaki-san."

Sakuno was relieved to see that she would be sitting next to a girl because she was shy of boys. She sat down and hung her bag from the side of her desk.

Miyu smiled at the brown haired girl, "I'm Yukimura Miyu. You can just call me Miyu."

Sakuno smiled in response to Miyu's friendly attitude and replied, "Then you must call me Sakuno."

The two girls smiled at each other, both feeling they had made a new friend.

* * *

_**Yuki Note: This is the first chapter with edits and add ons. I hope everyone likes it. The second chapter is mostly done now, so please keep an eye out! **_

_**Read and Review! Reviews make me update faster! **_

_**Ps. As you can see I am doing some regular fics now...I am trying to broaden my typing range. Hope you all still read my things, and maybe get some new people reading what I usually write. **_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Don't Regret **_

_**Summary: **__**At sweet sixteen, Sakuno is still shy and timid. However, she is now beginning her first year in senior high at Rikkai Dai instead of Seigaku. Why? All answers will be known as Sakuno starts to remember the past she forgot from an accident. **_

_**Category: Prince of Tennis**_

_**Pairing: Sakuno/?**_

_**Rating: T**_

_**Authors Note: I had permission from Yvie, a while ago to continue this story! I will be making some edits and so in the chapters and add on on chapters! I want to make it so it fits my style of writing...and make things flow smoother...at least smoother in my opinion. Hope you all enjoy this! **_

_**x-X-x**_

_**Chapter Two**_

_**x-X-x**_

At lunchtime, Miyu took Sakuno to a sunny spot outside on the grass to eat their bento. She liked the shy and hesitant but gentle girl.

The two ate in silence for a few minutes before Miyu decided to pick something easy to talk about with her new friend, "What club will you be joining? There are a lot of choices in Rikkai Dai. I am in the girls' tennis club myself, though it is rather small compared to the boys' tennis club."

Sakuno brightened at the mention of tennis. She smiled at Miyu, "Really? You are in the girls' tennis club? That's great because I want to join." Sakuno liked tennis due to the influence of… something that she had forgotten.

She was not a very good player but she enjoyed practicing. Anyhow she was not competitive so it did not bother her very much.

Miyu laughed her eyes brightening at the information Sakuno had just told her, "Yosh, after school I will take you to join our club. There's no activity today so after we find buchou, if you like, I will show you more of the school grounds. This place is so big we can't possibly cover it in one lunch time."

Sakuno agreed. She could use some help finding her way around the school, she didn't feel like getting lost until she learned the way around. It takes too long for that.

"What other clubs are there here?" She may be inclined to join more than one. She had time and she may join the Home Ec club...or maybe the gardening club.

Miyu blinked before a small front came to her face as she thought about what other good clubs there were in the school, "There is the Photography Club, they are really good...then the Newspaper Club. Those two clubs are popular for fangirls though..."

Sakuno tilted her head to the side and blinked, "..Why is that?"

Miya gave the girl a small smile, "Because they get to take pictures of the tennis club...or write stories on them..."

Sakuno still didn't get it but just decided to go back to eating her bento and listen to Miyu list off other clubs she might like.

* * *

After school, Miyu ran and got Sakuno a club-joining form.

Sakuno wrote her name and class on the form. She then signed it carefully, biting her lip in concentration. "Yosh! Miyu-chan, where do I hand this in now?"

Miyu checked the form over and nodded. "Come on, I'll take you to our buchou. She's called Yamamoto Reika and she's really nice. Not like my brother…" The last bit was muttered under her breath but Sakuno still heard her.

She asked as they walked along the corridor. "Is your brother is a really horrible person? You said he's not like our buchou. Ah! Gomen! I shouldn't have asked such a personal question! Honto ni gomen-nasai! Miyu-chan!"

Miyu chuckled, "No, don't say that. It's fine. No, my brother is a gentle person normally but he is also the buchou of the boys' tennis club and then, he's really strict! I suppose I understand because they have a reputation to keep and if not for my brother and his friends, the boys' tennis club would not have won the senior high school nationals two years running.

Rikkai Dai has always been really strong in tennis. In fact, we are one of the best in the country but ever since my brother and his lot came up from Rikkai's junior high, they have reigned supreme in the boys' tennis club."

Sakuno gasped, "Wow… That is incredible! I didn't know that."

Miyu looked at her. "That's strange, so you didn't come into Rikkai because of our tennis reputation? I thought you like tennis?"

Sakuno blushed, "Well, I do like tennis but I had a car accident when the school year began and lost part of my memory. Obaa-chan decided that after I recovered that a new environment might be better for me. I think that before the accident, I was under some emotional stress. I try not to think about it because it gives me really bad headaches. I don't remember a lot of things about tennis but I do remember the basics and I know I really like it."

Sakuno had stopped walking when she started talking about her accident and memory loss. She had a slightly sad smile on her face and Miyu knew that although her tone was light, her heart was not.

She thought carefully before saying anything because she did not want to upset this sweet girl who brought out her strong protective streak. "So that's why you didn't start at the beginning of the term. Never mind! You can still learn about tennis now! Besides I would love telling you all that I know. I get a lot of tennis gossip from my brother and his lot."

Sakuno was easily distracted from her pensive mood and she smiled, her eyes twinkling, "That's true. Thank you Miyu-chan!"

Miyu winked at her good-naturedly and they continued walking in search of Yamamoto Reika.

* * *

_**Yuki Note: I hope everyone liked this. **_

_**Read and Review! I want to know what you all think of this! I will update once I get 10 reviews! **_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Don't Regret **_

_**Summary: **__**At sweet sixteen, Sakuno is still shy and timid. However, she is now beginning her first year in senior high at Rikkai Dai instead of Seigaku. Why? All answers will be known as Sakuno starts to remember the past she forgot from an accident. **_

_**Category: Prince of Tennis**_

_**Pairing: Sakuno/?**_

_**Rating: T**_

_**Authors Note: I had permission from Yvie, a while ago to continue this story! I will be making some edits and so in the chapters and add on on chapters! I want to make it so it fits my style of writing...and make things flow smoother...at least smmoother in my opinion. Hope you all enjoy this! **_

_**x-X-x**_

_**Chapter Three**_

_**x-X-x**_

Miyu rode her bike to school bright and early the next day. She had gotten her brother to wake her up before he went to morning practice. She enjoyed playing tennis but to her, it was more a sport and recreation than an essential part of life as it was for her brother and his lot.

She saw a familiar looking girl in front of her with two long braids swinging back and forth as she walked along. Miyu was about to call out a greeting when suddenly the girl in front tripped and fell.

Miyu sped up and stopped next to the girl on the ground, Sakuno. She stepped off her bike and gave a hand to Sakuno, saying, "Morning, Sakuno! Are you alright? That looked like a pretty heavy fall."

Sakuno looked up and accepted the hand of help offered to her. She pulled herself up, blushing a little at the thought of her new-found friend seeing her clumsiness.

She thanked Miyu prettily and said, "I am such an accident prone that I am actually used to falling down, so you don't have to worry. This is normal for me, I am very tough!"

Miyu smothered her urge to smile for Sakuno was one of the most petite girls she had ever seen; even Miyu was taller by half a head, so the idea of Sakuno being tough was rather amusing. Still, not wanting to hurt her feelings, she kept the thought to herself.

Instead, she said, "Hop on, girl! I'll bike you to school!" Sakuno giggled and got on the back of the bike. They reached the school very soon after that and walked to their classroom.

888888

Marui Bunta finished off his bento and dessert on the rooftop. He then made his way down to the school grounds looking for a place under the trees where the shadows would be cool and he could have a nap before the afternoon lessons began.

On the second floor, he suddenly smelt something that he loved.

The smell of freshly baked cakes!

He followed his nose and soon came to a first year classroom. He walked inside, still following his nose and not noticing the glances the first years, mostly girls, were giving him. He finally stopped in front of a desk where two girls were sitting.

He looked down and saw the cutest, sweetest-looking cup-cakes he had ever seen. He started drooling and thankfully, even in this hungry-for-cake state, he still managed to remember his manners and asked without looking away from the cakes, "Can I have some cakes please?" His tone was pathetically childish that it would take a heart to stone to reject him.

Sakuno was not only without a heart of stone, she was also softer-hearted than most, so it was not surprising that she said gently, though somewhat shyly, "I-If you like, senpai, I will wrap some up for you to take away."

Miyu was looking on with a wry expression on her face but when she heard that some of Sakuno's delicious cakes were going to be given away, which meant less for her, she spoke up quickly, "Sakuno, no! Bun-chan just had a load of cakes I can tell you. He always does at lunch. Don't give him any! It's unhealthy!"

Bunta looked at the person who dared to call him his childhood name and got a shock. "Miyu! What on earth are you doing here? And don't call me Bun-chan. It's Marui-senpai now."

Sakuno looked at them, her shyness over a boy who was also a stranger forgotten momentarily, and asked, "Do you know each other, Miyu-chan?"

Miyu wrinkled her nose slightly and nodded, "Yeah, this is Marui Bunta, one of my brother's friends. They are in the tennis club together. Bun-chan is one of the regulars. I hate to say it but he is not half bad when he plays. He loves cakes and eats them all the time, so don't bother giving them to him, he's already had a lot today and I'm sure he still has some in his school bag for before and after tennis practice. By the way, Bun-chan, I'm here because this is my classroom and I am eating with my friend, Ryuzaki Sakuno."

Bunta was annoyed at having his cake-fetish revealed in front of this gentle-looking girl with the delicious cakes, not that it was any big secret but still...

"I can always have more cakes, can't I? I do so much exercise that I really need the sugar! Besides, if you want, I'll swap my cakes for yours. Your cakes smell so nice." With that, he went back to staring and drooling at the cakes on Sakuno's desk.

Sakuno looked at Miyu and back at Bunta.

She said, "Ne, Marui-senpai, if you already had cakes this lunchtime, maybe it would be better for you not to have my cakes."

Miyu beamed and Bunta's face fell. "However," Sakuno went on quickly, "Tomorrow I will bring more cakes for you to eat at lunchtime, is that alright? That way, you can tell me what you like and I will try and make them. Okay?"

Bunta thought for a moment. He really wanted to try those cakes but it might not be a good idea to eat that much because he did have a lot of cakes earlier and later he would be sick if he did not stop now.

He did not mind being sick for the sake of cakes but there was tennis practice today and if Yukimura and Sanada found out that he missed practice because of eating too many cakes, there would be hell to pay and he could kiss his cakes goodbye until, like, forever. Moreover, Miyu would be annoyed if he took the cakes and she would definitely tell Yukimura some tale or the other and he would be in trouble anyway because Yukimura was very protective of his sister.

He then came up with an idea. He grinned at his own cleverness and said, "How about I have one cake now and have the rest tomorrow."

Miyu was somewhat surprised that Bunta would give in so easily that she did not protest. Sakuno smiled and agreed.

Bunta took up one small cup-cake with a chocolate button on top. The cake was nicely golden and puffed out just right. Tears almost fell from his eyes as he regarded the lovely little cupcake that gave off such a delicious aroma. Miyu rolled her eyes and sighed in a low voice, "Don't mind him when there are cakes in front of him, he is cake-crazy."

Sakuno giggled at her description of Bunta. She looked at Bunta as he peeled away the paper cup and popped the little cake into his mouth.

Bunta felt as if he was in his seventh heaven. The cake was not too sweet and not too stale, nor was it too soft or too cold. It tasted just right, as though it was made just for him.

He moaned to himself silently because he really wanted to eat another one but with Miyu there, he knew he had better not or there might be no more cakes in the future from anyone.

He knew for certain that if he annoyed Miyu that meant annoying Yukimura at the same time, and this Sakuno, with the lovely cakes, was Miyu's friend. Therefore, he turned to Sakuno and said, "That was really yummy! I promised to have one only so you have to make me lots and lots of cakes tomorrow, ne?"

Sakuno smiled at this rather cute and non-threatening senpai and nodded, "I promise. What flavour would you like, Marui-senpai? If you like, I can make enough so that you will have some for after school, ne?"

Miyu said dryly, "Are you sure you want to be so nice to him, Sakuno? He might want you to make cakes for him every day if you are so nice now."

Bunta's face lit up at the thought. Sakuno was not quite sure what to say. Miyu, knowing Sakuno to be a kind-hearted girl, sighed and said, "Don't worry; I won't let him bully you into doing that. I know him too well."

Bunta looked at Miyu with a puppy-hurt-look on his boyishly handsome face. "How can you say that, Miyu? I will never bully Sakuno-chan! I'm a gentleman!"

Miyu snorted rudely, "Yeah right, I believe you won't bully her but you'll try to get to do what you want anyway with your puppy-eyes trick."

Sakuno giggled at their bantering. "You two are so funny." She said with a twinkle in her eyes.

At that moment, the bell rang. Bunta winked at Sakuno and said quickly, "Any flavour would be fine as long as you're the one who make it!" With that, he ran out of the classroom quickly, missing Sakuno's blush after hearing his words.

Miyu shook her head and sighed again, "The cake-crazy boy!"

* * *

_**Yuki Note: hope you all enjoyed it! I will update when I get 10 reviews again! **_

_**Read and Review! **_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Don't Regret **_

_**Summary: **__**At sweet sixteen, Sakuno is still shy and timid. However, she is now beginning her first year in senior high at Rikkai Dai instead of Seigaku. Why? All answers will be known as Sakuno starts to remember the past she forgot from an accident. **_

_**Category: Prince of Tennis**_

_**Pairing: Sakuno/?**_

_**Rating: T**_

_**Authors Note: I had permission from Yvie, a while ago to continue this story! I will be making some edits and so in the chapters and add on on chapters! I want to make it so it fits my style of writing...and make things flow smoother...at least smmoother in my opinion. Hope you all enjoy this! **_

_**x-X-x**_

_**Chapter Four**_

_**x-X-x**_

Sakuno took a long and much-needed drink after the tough but satisfying practice that she had just finished with the girls' tennis club. Compared to the boys' tennis club, the girls' club was much smaller but they were still very good and she knew that she would have to practice hard to keep up.

There was no pressure because the girls' tennis club was much more concerned with the exercise and enjoying tennis rather than actual results in matches. They left the competition to the boys.

However, although they were not as obsessed about it as the boys, they were part of Rikkai Dai and compared to a lot of schools, they were excellent and every time they went out to compete, whether it's a formal match or an informal one, more likely than not, they still came back with good news and awards. Sakuno was glad that there was no competitive pressure on her because by nature, she was a peace-loving girl and anyway, she was so klutzy that all she could do at the moment was keep up with the practice although she missed more balls than actually hitting them.

Reika came up to her, startling her out of her thoughts. She turned to her buchou quickly and bowed her polite little bow, "Go-gomen nasai, Reika-buchou! I didn't notice you coming!"

Reika laughed, not the least perturbed about it, "Don't worry, Ryuzaki, We are not as formal as a lot of the other sports' clubs. You don't have to be so nervous. I just wanted to say that I really like your attitude during practice. Your style is fair but you really need to work on your eye-hand coordination, as well as your footwork because you seem to trip over them quite often. Still you don't seem to be afraid of hard work, so I wouldn't worry too much. Good practice though, kiddie!"

Sakuno blushed and said, "Thank you, buchou!"

Reika quirked a smile at this shy little girl, patted her head because she was so small and walked on, saying, "Ja na, Ryuzaki!"

Sakuno answered, waving childishly at Reika's retreating back, "Hai-hai!"

Just then, Miyu came running up to her. "Sakuno, was that buchou? What did she say?"

Sakuno smiled, "Ah, Miyu-chan, I'm really happy! Reika-buchou said that I need to practice my coordination and footwork."

Miyu raised her eyebrows, "I'm sure that's not all that she said, or you wouldn't be so pleased."

Sakuno nodded, "She also said that I have a good attitude during practice."

Miyu laughed, pleased for her friend, "Buchou is good, isn't she? She always knows just the right thing to say and they are always true too." Miyu took a drink from her bottle and looked at her watch. She said, "Gomen, Sakuno, I have to go now, I promised Mum that I will help her buy some stuff after practice. Are you going?"

Sakuno looked at the sky, which was still bright and shook her head, "I think I will stay and practice hitting balls against the wall for a while. I want to practice a bit more. You go along, I'll see you tomorrow!"

Miyu nodded, "Okay, see you! By the way, if you want a good wall to practice against, go to where we had lunch the other day, that's a good place to practice." With that, she hurried off.

Sakuno picked up her racket, some balls, her towel and water bottle. She started to make her way to the spot Miyu mentioned. It was only a short distance away but since this was Sakuno, it could only be expected that she lost her way very quickly and found herself to be in a part of the school grounds where she had not been before.

Come to think of it, it really did not matter, because she had only been in the school for a few days and even if she had been to this place, she would not know how to make her way back to the girls' tennis grounds where she came from.

Still, Sakuno was really very good-natured and she reckoned that she would just find a random wall that did not have any windows on it and practice there. She did not realize if she could not find her way back to the girls' tennis grounds now, then she probably would not be able to make her way to the girls' changing rooms which were just next to the tennis grounds. However since it did not cross her mind, she was not worried about it at all. She had happily found a suitable wall in a clearing surrounded by bushes. Sakuno started to practice.

* * *

Niou Masaharu was strolling along with Marui Bunta and Kurahara Jackal to the vending machines when they heard a peculiar sound. It sounded like a tennis ball being hit against a wall to their practiced ears, after all they have listening to the same kind of sound almost every day for at least six years: three years in junior high and two full years with one year to go in senior high at Rikkai Dai.

However, this sound seemed a bit different, it went on for about three balls against the wall then would stop for while and there would be the soft sounds of pattering feet. The trio came to the conclusion that the person must have missed the ball and was picking it up. They were right for the sound of the ball hitting against the wall started again. It went on for about five balls this time, the trio was thinking when the ball-sound stopped and the pattering-feet-sound started again.

Niou started chuckling to himself, thinking this to be the most amusing thing he had countered this week. He started to stroll toward the sound very quietly. Bunta and Jackal looked to one another and shrugged, and then they followed him. Who knew what would happen to the person who was unfortunate enough to catch the Trickster's attention when he had been bored.

They soon came to the clearing where Sakuno was painstakingly practicing her forehand and backhand. It was true that she played rather badly, not because her form was bad, but because she was too slow. Her concentration was intense though and she did not notice the rustle of the bushes behind her as Niou, then Bunta and Jackal appeared.

Bunta recognized Sakuno at once. How could he not, when he had so happily accepted her cakes that very afternoon, almost crying with joy. As a result, he had had a very silly grin on since lunch time up till the practice sessions from hell began as he thought of them. He wanted to call out to Sakuno but unfortunately Niou beat him to it, his observant eyes noticing the girl's intense concentration which he thought would be funny to break, being the sadistic person he was.

He screamed suddenly, "Ahhh! Cockroaches! So many cockroaches!" It certainly broke Sakuno's concentration but not quite the way he had envisioned. He had been imaging along the lines of the girl jumping up and down, screaming hysterically, while he laughed his bottom off.

Sakuno did jump at his scream but extremely unfortunately for her, there was a tennis ball just rolling by her feet and she stepped on it when she jumped. As you could imagine, she tripped on the rolling ball, there was a nasty sound around her ankle and to top it all, her other foot slipped on the ground and she fell flat on her face.

* * *

Yuki Note: I get 10 reviews...you get an update! XD


	5. Chapter 5

_**Don't Regret **_

_**Summary: **__**At sweet sixteen, Sakuno is still shy and timid. However, she is now beginning her first year in senior high at Rikkai Dai instead of Seigaku. Why? All answers will be known as Sakuno starts to remember the past she forgot from an accident. **_

_**Category: Prince of Tennis**_

_**Pairing: Sakuno/?**_

_**Rating: T**_

_**Authors Note: I had permission from Yvie, a while ago to continue this story! I will be making some edits and so in the chapters and add on on chapters! I want to make it so it fits my style of writing...and make things flow smoother...at least smmoother in my opinion. Hope you all enjoy this! **_

_**x-X-x**_

_**Chapter Five**_

_**x-X-x**_

After Sakuno's fall, there was a silence. Everyone was shocked at the impressive display of klutziness.

Then Bunta came to his senses and ran to his precious source of cakes' side. "Sakuno-chan, are you alright?" He turned her over gently, wincing when he saw the scratches on her face and knees.

Sakuno moaned softly and looked up. "Ittai…"

Bunta shot a look at Niou before asking Sakuno, "Where do you hurt most?" He may be the cake-crazy boy but he was still a good lad and he was really worried because of the nasty sound when Sakuno fell. He thought that perhaps she had twisted her ankle.

Sakuno tried to stand up and nearly fell down again when she put her weight on her right ankle. Luckily, Niou was there to catch hold of her. He had an uncharacteristic expression on his face, a mixture of concern, he did cause her injuries, indirectly, and a bit of shame, not too much because he rarely felt ashamed of his jokes and pranks. This was such an innocent looking girl though, that his conscious was actually pricking him; in fact, he did not even know he had one.

Sakuno looked up and up at the person who caught her when she was about to fall again. Niou was taller than Bunta after all and of course much taller than Sakuno. She smiled shyly at him through her tearing eyes. This was because her body was hurting quite a bit; the ground was rough with little stones littered on the granite which were what scraped her knees and face raw, not to mention her right ankle. "Thank you, senpai. I am alright."

Bunta knelt in front of her and said, "Ignore him, Sakuno-chan, he's the one who caused you to fall. Hop on; I'll take you to the san."

Sakuno blushed and protested, "I'm fine, really, Marui-senpai! I can walk by myself."

Jackal spoke up in his steady and calm voice, "Let Bunta carry you, you are in no condition to walk." Niou suddenly picked Sakuno up and carried her bridal-style.

Niou gave the two a look, "This is quicker. Get her stuff." He went off quickly but carefully as not to jostle Sakuno in his arms. Bunta and Jackal's jaws dropped. They had been together playing tennis since junior high and they had never seen him to actually care for someone who was hurt because of the Trickster.

Jackal recovered first and started to pick up Sakuno's stuff. "Come along; let's go to the san. Anyway, how did you know the girl?"

Bunta closed his jaw and stood up, "She's called Ryuzaki Sakuno and she's Miyu's friend. She makes the best cakes, I swear!"

Jackal raised his eyebrows in amusment, "Really?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Niou and Sakuno had already reached the san but there was no sign of the doctor who was supposed to be on duty during club afternoons because so many people doing sports in such a large school means a lot of people with injuries one way or the other.

It may be that it was already late and the doctor had gone. That was Niou's initial thought but he saw a note paper on the teacher's desk, saying she would be gone for thirty minutes to take a break. He put Sakuno down on one of the beds in the san.

Sakuno had been so surprised by Niou's action that she was speechless, her face blushing even more than usual for she had never been carried by a boy before and in the bridal-style too!

Now she was calmer as she sat on the bed, looking at Niou as he got a first aid kit out. She thought about what Bunta had said about this person causing her fall. She remembered a scream of something but she was so concentrated on her practice that she did not catch what the words were; it was the sheer volume of the voice that had surprised her.

She was about to thank Niou for bringing her to the san when he spoke up, almost roughly because he hated to apologize but he knew he had to this time because he was actually, honestly sorry that he hurt her, albeit indirectly, "I'm sorry… back then when I startled you. I-I didn't mean to make you fall. I just wanted to surprise you because you were concentrating so much."

Sakuno was touched by the rough apology. She might be a klutz; she might not be the brightest student but she had a kind heart and she could always feel when someone felt bad or sad. She did not know this person and yet she could sense that he was someone who was not used to bowing down to people but he was doing it to her, not literally but bowing down with his apology.

Sakuno stuttered out, "Ano… You didn't startle me, I-I was just a bit surprised. You didn't cause my fall, senpai. I fall all the time, my family always say that I am very accident prone. You don't have to apologize because I probably would have slipped anyway. Besides you carried me to the san. Thank you for that because I would've gotten lost on my own. I'm new at Rikkai Dai."

She was so intent on trying to make Niou feel better that she forgot her shyness and spoke to him naturally. Later she would recall the marvel of Rikkai's regulars because she actually spoke to these tennis idols with very little stuttering and stammering.

Niou stared at Sakuno with a stunned expression, another rarity for him. He was more used to people yelling at him after the Trickster had done his dirty deeds. This slip of a girl, a cute slip but still a slip, thanked him instead and said that it was her own fault.

He now felt doubly ashamed, and for the first time in his life, found someone he did not want to trick ever again. He took the first aid kit and sat down in front of her. He said, "I'm Niou Masaharu, Third Year, just call me Niou."

Sakuno smiled in reply, "Ah… My name is Ryuzaki Sakuno, Niou-senpai. Yoroshiku-onegaishimasu."

Niou nodded and silently started to treat her face wounds tenderly, his hands so careful as if he was afraid that he might break her.

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_**Yuki Note: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! **_

_**Read and Review! **_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Don't Regret **_

_**Summary: **__**At sweet sixteen, Sakuno is still shy and timid. However, she is now beginning her first year in senior high at Rikkai Dai instead of Seigaku. Why? All answers will be known as Sakuno starts to remember the past she forgot from an accident. **_

_**Category: Prince of Tennis**_

_**Pairing: Sakuno/?**_

_**Rating: T**_

_**Authors Note: I had permission from Yvie, a while ago to continue this story! I will be making some edits and so in the chapters and add on on chapters! I want to make it so it fits my style of writing...and make things flow smoother...at least smmoother in my opinion. Hope you all enjoy this! **_

_**x-X-x**_

_**Chapter Six**_

_**x-X-x**_

Bunta and Jackal arrived with Sakuno's stuff. Jackal put down Sakuno's racket and tennis balls and said, "I'm going back to tell Yukimura and Sanada what you guys are doing. Are you going to come back to practice, it's not over yet, but if you want to take …" He had forgotten this girl's name.

"Sakuno, her name is Sakuno." Niou supplied, not looking up from his ministrations.

Jackal and Bunta looked surprised but Jackal went on, "Right, if you want to take Sakuno home, I can tell them that as well. Which is it?"

Sakuno bit her lip, "Uh… ano… senpai-tachi, I-I can go home by myself. I-It's fine."

Bunta and Niou said simultaneously, "No!"

They looked at one another and Bunta said, "Sakuno-chan, you might have twisted your ankle, there is no way that you can go home by yourself. Besides, what about your school-bag and tennis-bag? Those will be in the changing rooms and you still need to go back to get those and return the tennis balls to the sports' shed."

Niou agreed, "Bunta's right, you are in no condition to walk by yourself or on your own, it will dangerous. I will carry you to get your stuff and Bunta can help. Then we will take you home."

Sakuno did not want to be a bother to anyone and she tried protesting but it did no good. She finally sighed, "Then I will wait for your tennis practice to finish. I don't want to you to get into any trouble with Yukimura-senpai. Miyu said that he's really strict about tennis." All three thought that this was a plausible idea and Jackal left to tell Yukimura and Sanada about this new turn of events, meaning they would have a visitor at the regulars' practice.

888888

All of them, including Jackal, were quite surprised at the turn of events. What had started as one of Niou's normal nasty tricks had actually backfired in a strange way. Jackal, being more observant of the doubles' pair with Bunta, could guess a little about Niou's change of attitude, unusual though it was.

He thought that it was not too strange considering Sakuno's shy and demure character, which was rare when Rikkai Dai's tennis regulars were usually surrounded or sometimes even stalked by overly enthusiastic fans. Most of these fans would turn up and when they do, the words 'shy', 'demure' or generally 'quiet' did not seem to exist.

Although Sakuno's type of girl did not appeal to him as attractive, he could appropriate the refreshing change very much after being bombarded with screams during practice earlier, until Sanada, as usual, had flipped and actually managed to clear all the members of the opposite sex away. Possibly he was the only one who could do that by sheer force of character. Niou could also clear the area around the courts but it was always with extremely nasty tricks like the release of real cockroaches that he claimed to have bred himself just for that purpose.

He thought back on one actual incident when Niou actually did do that. He released cockroaches and not only the girls ran but also quite a number of the boys in the tennis club. He had to agree that while it was an effective trick, it was very disgusting and the whole school had to conduct a pestilence clearance during the weekend and all practices were cancelled.

Yukimura and Sanada were not pleased but they could not begrudge Niou's actions, probably because even they were fed up with the fangirls' screaming at everything they did.

As for Niou, Akaya and Bunta, they had a great time, laughing until they were rolling on the courts at the panic Niou caused.

Yanagi simply noted down as much as he could of people who were scared by cockroaches, mumbling under his breath that this data might come in useful. Even since their match against Seigaku during their last year in junior high, when Yanagi had reunited with his childhood friend, Inui, his actions had definitely gotten more and more on the weird side. He even started to collaborate with Inui on some supposedly super version of a health drink.

As for Yagyuu, he pushed his glasses up and sat down on a side-bench, saying he would be taking a break since no one was concentrating on practice yet.

During all that, he had sat down with Yagyuu and patiently waited for practice to start again, thinking what all the fuss was about. Cockroaches were disgusting but surely there was no need for all the screaming and yelling and stampeding away from them, not that he was complaining since it meant a noise-free practice.

With his long and quick strides, he had reached their regulars' practice grounds. Sanada Genichirou had noticed him already and looking towards him with a frown on his stern face.

Jackal had known that it would be like this so he was not concerned, besides it was not his fault that they were late. He went up to Sanada, ready to give his explanation, when Yukimura gave the signal for the others to stop and gather round.

It was unusual for three members of the regulars to be late at the same time because the competition was always heavy and no one knew when someone would be good enough to take your place, so they were always diligent about practice, despite their various odd personalities. Therefore Yukimura thought all the regulars had the right to hear what Jackal had to say about them being late and why Niou and Bunta were still missing.

When everyone was gathered round, Jackal did not wait for Sanada or Yukimura to start questioning him. He just started to explain in his steady way, "Well, we were going to the vending machines when…"

* * *

**_Yuki Note: 10 reviews and I shall update :3 Read and Review! _**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Don't Regret **_

_**Summary: **__**At sweet sixteen, Sakuno is still shy and timid. However, she is now beginning her first year in senior high at Rikkai Dai instead of Seigaku. Why? All answers will be known as Sakuno starts to remember the past she forgot from an accident. **_

_**Category: Prince of Tennis**_

_**Pairing: Sakuno/?**_

_**Rating: T**_

_**Authors Note: I had permission from Yvie, a while ago to continue this story! I will be making some edits and so in the chapters and add on on chapters! I want to make it so it fits my style of writing...and make things flow smoother...at least smmoother in my opinion. Hope you all enjoy this! **_

_**x-X-x**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**x-X-x**_

'_How did it end up like this?' _thought Sakuno as Amano-sensei, the doctor on duty, finished bandaging her ankle. Amano-sensei then interrupted her thoughts as she gave her instructions to stay off her feet as much as possible for the next two weeks for it was a bad sprain and if not allowed to heal fully, then later, it might come back to give her trouble.

Amano-sensei also told Sakuno to come each day to change bandages and tomorrow, she would give her a crutch. They were out of crutches in the meantime because of a delayed order that should arrive tomorrow.

While she was speaking to Sakuno, she was actually looking at Bunta and Niou. She knew both of them for Bunta sometimes came for medicine after eating too many cakes when there were cooking classes and a lot of girls would give their cakes to Bunta knowing he would accept them. Amano-sensei was also familiar with Niou, not personally but mostly through word-of-mouth from her patients who were at the wrong end of the Trickster's jokes.

Bunta and Niou could tell that Amano-sensei wanted them to take care of Sakuno and when she finished giving instructions to Sakuno, Bunta spoke up, "We'll take her home later and tomorrow, we'll come back with her to change the bandages and get the crutch, sensei."

Amano-sensei nodded; too tired after a long day to really say more even though she was a bit curious as to why Niou was with this girl when he never seemed to care about other people. It was not her problem though so she did not say anything and released the three.

Bunta and Niou started to argue whether who should carry Sakuno, when Sakuno, very stupidly I might add, tried to stand on her left foot, hold her right foot up. This was obviously a misguided attempt to show that she could walk or rather, hop, on her own. Sakuno thought that she really should be more independent and she also disliked arguments whether she was in it or not.

Noticing Sakuno's clumsy movements, Niou broke off mid-argument and again swept Sakuno off her feet. Sakuno squeaked and blushed seven shades of red because she was aware that Amano-sensei was looking on with an amused expression. Bunta stopped protesting against Niou picking Sakuno up when he noticed, just a split second later than Niou, what Sakuno was trying to do. He sighed and picked up her stuff.

The three turned to Amano-sensei and bowed politely, or in Niou and Sakuno's case, bobbed their heads, and they thanked her, "Arigatou-gozaimasu, Amano-sensei!"

Now that she was being carried and Niou and Bunta were bickering, Sakuno continued on her earlier, interrupted train of thoughts on this strange turn of events. To her, everything was normal up until she lost her way after practice while looking for a wall. It still felt pretty normal until she heard Niou-senpai's scream, then there was a rush to the san, they talked and now they seemed to be rushing again.

"Ano… Bunta-senpai, a-are we going to the tennis courts? Sakuno asked shyly.

Bunta smiled at her and answered gently, "Later, now we are going to the girls' changing rooms to get your bags. Do you need help changing your clothes?"

Niou smirked at this while Sakuno's eyes opened wide and her face turned an even deeper shade of crimson. Bunta noticed his mistake and quickly said, "No, I mean, uh… I mean, I don't mean that…"

He did not know what he was saying anyway, so embarrassed he was and so irritated at Niou's sniggering that he walked on faster, a faint blush covering his cheeks. Sakuno wanted to reassure him that she understood what he was trying to say but she was too shy to speak up at this moment so the three kept quiet while they made their way to the changing rooms.

In the end, they put Sakuno on one of the benches in the changing room and told her to yell when she finished changing. She found that she could only put on one shoe because the ankle that was injured was still quite swollen despite the bandages. She sighed, wrapped her shoe up and put it in her sports-bag with her tennis trainers. She thought, _'Now I feel like Cinderella… No, don't be silly, Sakuno, you are too plain anyway, be sensible!'_

After mentally chastising herself, she raised her voice, "Uh… ano, Bunta-senpai, Niou-senpai. I… I…" Apparently she found it hard to voice the words 'finished changing'. Bunta and Niou heard her call and came in anyway.

They thought she looked very sweet in their school's uniform but neither wanted to embarrass her so they did not say anything other than, "Ready?" and "Let's go." Niou again picked Sakuno up. Bunta, by this time, had already given up arguing with Niou. He just shrugged and went after them, carrying Sakuno's bags.

* * *

**_Yuki Note: Hope you enjoy the re-post. Working way to get to the new chapter. Have to get through the meeting of the regulars first though. After that NEW CHAPTERS!_**

**_Read and Review! Enjoy! _**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Don't Regret **_

_**Summary: **__**At sweet sixteen, Sakuno is still shy and timid. However, she is now beginning her first year in senior high at Rikkai Dai instead of Seigaku. Why? All answers will be known as Sakuno starts to remember the past she forgot from an accident. **_

_**Category: Prince of Tennis**_

_**Pairing: Sakuno/?**_

_**Rating: T**_

_**Authors Note: I had permission from Yvie, a while ago to continue this story! I will be making some edits and so in the chapters and add on on chapters! I want to make it so it fits my style of writing...and make things flow smoother...at least smmoother in my opinion. Hope you all enjoy this! **_

_**x-X-x**_

_**Chapter Eight**_

_**x-X-x**_

Yanagi took something out of his tennis bag. The others saw that it was a digital camera. "What's that for, Yanagi-senpai?" Kirihara Akaya asked.

Yagyuu answered for Yanagi, guessing what his friend was about to do, "He's getting ready to take Niou and Bunta's picture when they come back with the girl. We never see Niou with girls unless he's terrorizing them and when Bunta's with girls, there are always cakes in the picture, so this is a good chance to collect data."

Yanagi gave a sinister smile, not unlike Inui's when he was making his Penal-Tea, "That's correct, very good, Yagyuu. Since this is not tennis data, I can also sell them to people who would be interested."

The others raised their eyebrows at this strange statement. Who would be interested in these silly photos other than Yanagi?

Yanagi correctly interpreted their looks and answered their unspoken question, "Sadaharu would be interested. I always get random information about the Seigaku regulars from him as well as interesting recipes. Em… Mizuki Hajime from St. Rudolph might also be interested. According to my data, he loves to gossip."

Akaya yelped, "So that's where you've been getting those horrible drinks that you are making us try, Yanagi-senpai!"

Apparently, Rikkai Dai's boys' tennis club had been suffering lately because of Yanagi's recent obsession with Inui's Penal-Tea.

Inui advertised his wares to tennis clubs in other schools, claiming that his Penal-Tea had maximum effect when combined with tennis practice and that it had been experimented on and proven 'safe' for more than five years. The experiments were conducted on the Seigaku boys' tennis club and fellow lovers of The Prince of Tennis, we all know how lively they are.

Due to these sugared advertisements, his recipes sold very well, although they were not received well by the people who were made to drink them. Still it must be said that the Penal-Tea did its job well and he gathered very positive feedback from his clients.

Most of them were in the effect of saying, "Our team has been running longer and faster during basic training." Or "The players have been hitting the tennis balls with higher accuracy and strength!"

Yanagi knew the reason why Inui was suddenly selling his recipes after five years of using them for himself and Seigaku. He now had a higher ambition and that is to build a laboratory devoted to the study of Penal-Tea and likewise 'health' drinks. Thus the sudden gathering of funds and feedback.

Just when Yanagi finished calculating the route they would probably come back by and stood there, ready with his evil camera, they appeared.

_**Click! **_

_**Click! **_

_**Click!**_

A series of clicks and flashes greeted the three and Niou immediately knew what had happened. He would have done the same if he was in Yanagi's position, except he would have used them for blackmail or something equally bad.

"Bunta, stop Yanagi!" He snapped amidst the clicks of the camera. Bunta sprinted off but Yanagi had already gone off somewhere to hide his camera. The rest of the regulars went up to meet them, extremely curious about Sakuno after Jackal's explanation.

None of them quite believed him when he said that Niou personally carried the girl off to the san and that he actually seemed ashamed and worried. Even Sanada was intrigued. He had known the Trickster a long time and he knew as well as any person that the Trickster only cared for himself and had almost no conscience when it came to amusing himself.

Sakuno was not expecting the whole group of tall, well-built tennis players to crowd around them like that and she was rather intimidated.

One Bunta was harmless to her, two Niou was gentle and three Jackal kept his distance but now this was the lot of them, including a very stern-looking Sanada, a wicked-looking Akaya, the reputedly strict Yukimura and the unreadable Yagyuu.

Fortunately, though not by much, Yanagi was still hiding his camera from Bunta, so there was one less person to intimidate her, even if they did not mean to.

Yukimura noticed her discomfort and being the gentle person he usually was, motioned the others to back off a bit. They did and he said with a soothing smile, "You must be Ryuzaki Sakuno. Jackal told us what happened. How's your ankle? I'm so sorry Niou caused you so much trouble."

Sakuno, not so tensed after the regulars had backed off, was anxious to defend Niou because she honestly did not think it was his fault and she could not understand why everyone seemed to blame him. She probably would have tripped and fallen down anyway, whether there was someone to startle her or not.

"Ah… ano…" She was not sure who this person was.

Yukimura smiled, "I'm Yukimura Seiichi, the boys' tennis club's buchou."

Sakuno continued, "H-hai, Yukimura-senpai. Thank you for caring. Ah… my ankle is fine but you mustn't blame Niou-senpai! It's not his fault, I tripped on my own! I'm always so careless so it's really not his fault! He was very kind to me when I hurt myself, as well as Bunta-senpai and Jackal-senpai. I can't thank them enough! Please, I'm really sorry for getting them in trouble! Ano… they are not in trouble, are they, Yukimura-senpai?"

Sakuno was so anxious she was crying. Everyone was really shocked to see a girl crying because of Yukimura. If it was Niou or Sanada, they would understand and even accept as normal but Yukimura had never made a girl cry before, not that they know of, and definitely not shy little girls like Sakuno who seemed more likely to be afraid of the tall Niou or the stern Sanada rather than the gentle, almost beautiful Yukimura.

Yukimura looked distressed. He was protective at heart and to see this injured girl crying because of him was too much of a shock that he spoke without thinking, "Ryuzaki-chan, don't cry. They are not in trouble. Don't worry, they are not in trouble."

This time it was Sanada was looked distressed because he felt that at least, Bunta and Niou should run a few extra laps for being late. If not Bunta, then surely Niou should run the laps because he appeared to have caused all this in the beginning.

However, Yukimura was a man of his words and since he had said they were not in trouble, then they were not. Niou, of course, was pleased. He had a smirk on his face which he quickly smothered when Sakuno looked at him and asked, "R-really? Niou-senpai, Bunta-senpai and you are not in trouble?"

Niou kept a perfectly solemn face when he looked at Yukimura and answered in a clear voice, "No, Sakuno, we are _**NOT**_ in trouble. You don't have to worry now. Yukimura and Sanada are NOT going to punish any of us. Right? Sanada?" His tone was slightly smug, not too much because he did not want Sakuno to notice but he could not resist emphasizing the 'NOT', just to goad Sanada because Sanada was glaring at him.

Sakuno sniffed and stopped crying. She looked at Yukimura, "G-gomen-nasai, Yukimura-senpai. I-I have kept every one from practice and I have also made a spectacle of myself…" She was horrified at her outburst earlier and her eyes started to up tear again.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Don't Regret **_

_**Summary: **__**At sweet sixteen, Sakuno is still shy and timid. However, she is now beginning her first year in senior high at Rikkai Dai instead of Seigaku. Why? All answers will be known as Sakuno starts to remember the past she forgot from an accident. **_

_**Category: Prince of Tennis**_

_**Pairing: Sakuno/?**_

_**Rating: T**_

_**Authors Note: I had permission from Yvie, a while ago to continue this story! I will be making some edits and so in the chapters and add on on chapters! I want to make it so it fits my style of writing...and make things flow smoother...at least smmoother in my opinion. Hope you all enjoy this! **_

_**x-X-x**_

_**Chapter Nine**_

_**x-X-x**_

Just as Sakuno was about to cry, Yagyuu Hiroshi came up and lifted Sakuno from his doubles' partner's arms. Sakuno was surprised and she forgot she was about to cry, which was precisely what Yagyuu was hoping for.

He carried her gently over to a side-bench and set her down. Then he took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders for it was a chilly day. Sakuno blushed for the umpteenth time that afternoon and thanked him softly. Yagyuu nodded and walked off.

Although everyone wanted to crowd around Sakuno and be nosy… well not everyone, because Yagyuu, Sanada and Jackal were already getting ready to practice again. Yanagi had come back after stashing his camera somewhere safe, with Bunta still running after him half-heartedly.

Bunta had suddenly realized that he did not really care about the photos since he was just carrying Sakuno's stuff, unlike Niou who would be teased if anyone saw those photos. I should rephrase, Niou might be teased by anyone who saw those photos and was suicidal enough not to be afraid of retribution.

Bunta winked at Sakuno and was about to go over and check on her when Sanada pulled on his collar and dragged him away. Sakuno giggled at the sight.

Yanagi being one of the three who was in charge of the tennis club, ignored the signals for the start of practice and went over to chat with Sakuno.

He sat down next to her and got ready to record data. Yanagi said, "Ryuzaki-san darou? I'm Yanagi Renji. How are you feeling?"

Sakuno looked down at her twiddling thumbs, "Uh… I-I'm fine, thank you, Yanagi-senpai."

Yanagi continued to ask, "So… you are in Miyu-chan's class… she is a nice girl, isn't she?"

To those who might get the wrong idea here, Yanagi was trying to put Sakuno at ease. He was not interested in Miyu as a girl.

Sakuno brightened and smiled at Yanagi at the mention of Miyu, "Hai, Miyu-chan is very kind. She helped me so much these first few days! Without her, I would have been so lonely!"

Yanagi smiled and noted that down, then he went on, "Yes, she had always been a friendly girl, we, everyone here that is, have known her since junior high."

Sakuno nodded, much more comfortable when talking about her friend, "Hai, Miyu-chan told me senpai-tachi would go to Yukimura-senpai and Miyu-chan's house sometimes."

Yanagi already heard from Jackal earlier that Sakuno knew Bunta, so he tried to steer the conversation to that direction, "Miyu-chan calls Bunta 'Bun-chan', do you know? It is really quite funny because Bunta hates it and gets annoyed every time. That is probably why Miyu-chan keeps on doing it."

Sakuno laughed out loud; rather unusual for her but the memory of yesterday afternoon was quite funny, "I know, she did that yesterday when Bunta-senpai came to our classroom. I think that he had smelt the cakes I made because when he came in, he was sniffing and he wasn't looking at anyone until he stopped by my desk. Bunta-senpai didn't even notice Miyu-chan until she called him. Bunta-senpai makes me laugh; he's a really nice senpai."

Yanagi was quickly noting all of this down, adding comments like, "Bunta has a nose like a dog's when there are cakes nearby, must try it with other nice-smelling food, maybe made by Ryuzaki." And "Ryuzaki has good impression of Bunta, thinks he's nice." And "Ryuzaki is very polite to everyone, even Bunta."

He did not speak for a while, being engrossed in his data. Sakuno did not mind; she was watching the famed Rikkai regulars play against one another. It was truly something to marvel at; their swiftness, their strength and their style.

She blinked thinking,_ 'I didn't know that boys can be beautiful… did I? I seem to have seen someone who plays tennis beautifully before… who was it?'_

At that moment, her head started to hurt and her train of thought was broken. She groaned softly, putting her hands on her head and shaking it from side to side, as if she was trying to dislodge her headache.

Yanagi noticed and asked with concern in his voice, "Ryuzaki-san? Are you alright, Ryuzaki-san?" He patted her back to try and catch her attention without the others noticing.

If practice was disturbed again, Sanada would probably flip and Sakuno would get even more frightened of him. Now that would not do at all because he was looking forward to collecting some interesting data concerning the regulars' behavior around this little girl.

At least some of them acted differently when she was around, like Niou, Bunta and Yukimura. By Jove, Yukimura seemed almost reluctant to come near Sakuno again because he thought that he had made her cry.

Sakuno looked up at Yanagi when he patted her back, not registering who he was at first glance because her head hurt so much. Then it slowly subsided and she blinked, "Uh… Yanagi-senpai?"

Yanagi repeated his question patiently and Sakuno blinked several times before she had the presence of mind to answer, "Uh… uh… I-I'm fine, thank you, Yanagi-senpai." She turned back to looking at her hands which were now resting on her knees.

Yanagi looked at her for a while before noting down, "Ryuzaki has possible health problems. Ask Miyu about it. It may be important later." He was about to speak again, then thought maybe she probably needed someone more sensitive after her earlier obvious physical discomfort.

He knew himself reasonably well and when he was in data-collecting mode, he could be rather callous. It would not be in his best interests to invoke negative emotions in Ryuzaki at the moment. He caught his own line of thought and mentally punched himself for being callous in this type of thinking concerning this hurt little girl.

He looked the girl over before he muttered a , "Excuse me, Ryuzaki-san."

Sakuno replied, "Uh… hai, Yanagi-senpai." Yanagi made his way to the spot where he put his tennis bag and got his racket, ready to practice again.

He was also thinking who would be the best person to comfort Sakuno and just maybe… no, that would callous… but, ahhh… morality issues and data collecting, which would be more important? Em… he thought some more about it, not that anyone could tell because he always looked as if he was thinking about something or the other.

He finally came to a conclusion that since he would not be the one collecting data directly; there would be no morality issues for him, just for the person who would be giving him the data.

He mentally congratulated himself on getting around that issue and went back to thinking of one possible data collecting… no, possible sensitive and good-at-comforting candidate out of the regulars.

Sanada, Jackal and Yagyuu were all not suitable.

Sanada would frighten her too much, besides it would extremely difficult to get data about girls from Sanada; he could be really dense.

Jackal was engrossed in practice at the moment and besides, he was not the overly curious type and therefore would not care for the mission.

Yagyuu was a gentleman therefore he would be too polite to broach any interesting topics, thus he would be useless.

Niou may be a possibility but to get data out of him was too risky, besides he was not good comforting material, at least not that he could see.

That leaves Bunta, Yukimura and Akaya. Yanagi pretended to adjust his shoelaces while he thought some more.

Bunta was quite smart when he wanted to be and would also be very easy to bribe for data. However, he seemed to be quite friendly with Ryuzaki and might not be inclined to give any information about her.

Yukimura would want some time to compose himself before facing the girl he recently frightened into tears; Yanagi thought he knew why Sakuno cried but Yukimura would not believe him; the shock was too great to see a girl cry because of his words… em… partly because of his words.

That leaves Akaya. Would that be a good idea? Akaya was rather cold at times but he would be easy to glean data from because he did not have an interest in keeping quiet anyway. Akaya was also intelligent and sharp; he noticed many things that people would normally miss.

Anyway, he would be the only one left besides Yanagi and he was useless when he was only interested in data-collecting; he would probably forget himself some time or the other and ask some really embarrassing question and frighten her.

Having made up his mind, he motioned to Yukimura, who would be easier to persuade than Sanada about letting Akaya keep Sakuno company until practice ended. There was only about thirty minutes left anyway.

Yukimura came over obligingly. He looked at Yanagi with his head tipped to one side, a habit that many girls thought extremely cute; Yanagi had that noted down somewhere. He said directly, "Seiichi, I think it would be a good idea to let Akaya keep Ryuzaki company until practice ends. She seems lonely over there."

Yukimura looked surprised and a little touched, "I didn't know that you are such a caring person, Renji. That might be a good idea; in fact, we have caused her quite a lot of misery today."

He grimaced slightly, "I would have to apologize to her about making her cry earlier. That will have to wait because I am just not prepared to do it yet." For all his outward calm and sophistication, Yukimura was actually rather shy around girls except for his sister and mother.

Yanagi coughed and said, "Yes, well, then I will call Akaya over and introduce her to Sakuno."

Yukimura nodded and went back onto the court, thinking about his apology. Yanagi then motioned to Akaya, who looked pleased to be out of Sanada's way for the time being.

Sanada had been in a bad mood because of continued interruptions to today's practice and he was being especially strict with Akaya because of that. Yanagi noticed Sanada glare at him out of the corner of his eye but he ignored it; his data… no, a little girl was more important than Sanada in a bad mood.

Akaya smirked insolently while his greeting was polite, "Hai, Yanagi-senpai. What do you want me for?" Then he muttered under his breath which Yanagi ignored as well, "Anything to get away from Sanada-fukubuchou when he's in that mood."

Yanagi explained, "Akaya, Yukimura and I want you to keep Ryuzaki company until the end of practice. She seems to be lonely over there and we have given her a lot of trouble today, with Niou and later, Yukimura. She also seems to be rather shy. Try and put her at ease and get her to talk, maybe that will help her to forget her injuries. Later, I will ask for your report in case you said something to disturb her, so take care you don't or I will hand you over to Sanada for the rest of the year."

Akaya shrugged, "Whatever." They walked over to where Sakuno was sitting.

Yanagi smiled, "Ryuzaki-san, this is Kirihara Akaya. He is in the year above you and since he's taking a break, I thought he could keep you company."

Sakuno looked up, "A-arigatou-gozaimasu, Yanagi-senpai, Kirihara-senpai. I would be glad of some company." That amounted to saying she was bored and Sakuno was startled that she dared to make such an insinuation in front of the regulars.

She was about to apologize when Yanagi patted her head, totally treating her like a little girl, "That's alright, I would be bored too. Now, I leave you two to get better acquainted."

Not realizing that he sounded like a matchmaker, he left the pair, feeling very satisfied.


End file.
